Long time Great Walker, Mark Parre, shares some of his walking journal entries here. It’s bound to bring a smile to your face 🙂

When I try to tell people about the Great Walk it just comes out as some sort of hippy nutso gibberish. We are a group of individuals of various ages and varying backgrounds who come together, now and then, to live communally in nature to share a love for exploring country, seeing sites and sights, eating healthy, tasty, vegetarian food and delicious desserts, walking, swimming and getting together to chat.

We sing songs, volunteer to do the chores that a large group of people require to be done, give appreciation to those who “do” with an om and more often than not fall in love just a bit. We walk sometimes a little, sometimes a lot. We laugh at ourselves, at the comedy of everyday occurrences, at the silliness of situations.

We gather together in the “circle” called together by the circle song. Attendance is not optional, it is essential.

Evening circle happens after dinner. It begins with the sharing of highlights of the day. The leader of the circle chooses those who have their hands up with something to share, if it involves a kindness or considerate action by an individual an om will surely be given. What is an om? It is a way of acknowledging an individual or group of people. It goes:

“Om to (name),
Celebrate (name),
Sing it with an open and a joyful heart.
Om to (name),
Celebrate (name),
Sing it with an open heart.”

Om’s are called by the leader or erupt spontaneously from the circle members. Om’s are often requested by young children. Even people who are initially embarrassed by the attention come to “glow” after an om. It feels good to be appreciated openly, even when you already know you are. You can refuse an om, but you will probably get one anyway. Drivers, cooks and toilet hole diggers often get a collective om.

Depending on what’s happening the next day it’s either straight to chores that require volunteers or a description of what’s on for tomorrow. It is usual for the walk co-ordinator to explain what driving, walking and sights are on the agenda. People can then decide on what job they want to take on. There’s:

  • Wake up call (as in going around to each tent and making a gentle sound to rouse sleepy heads by singing, playing flute and such) this happens at a designated time which depends upon the time of year and what’s on for the day.
  • Firelighting. A cooking fire is lit in the morning if fires are allowed, they are not lit during fire ban season or in National Parks.
  • Breakfast, which involves setting out fruit, yoghurt, milks (cow, almond, soy etc). Bread, butter, jam, usually it also involves the cooking of porridge. Water is boiled, coffee is made. Gas rings are used for cooking when fires are not possible. Various cereals are available and sometimes left overs from last night feature such as rice pudding or apple crumble. More rarely there is a cooked breakfast such as scrambled eggs or pancakes.
  • Breakfast clean up. A washing up area is always available, this consists of a table on which are tubs for rinsing off food that remains adhering to vessels after scraping them out into a compost bucket. Next is a tub with soapy water sometimes warm, sometimes cold and finally a clean water rinse.Everyone washes their own cup, bowl/plate and spoon.